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Government Asks State-Owned Banks To Form Panel To Review Fraud Cases Against Employees

The government has asked all state-run banks to set up a committee of senior officers to monitor progress of pending fraud cases.

The counters in the banking hall of the state-owned Punjab National Bank stand empty during a strike by bank employees in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Sondeep Shankar/Bloomberg News.)  
The counters in the banking hall of the state-owned Punjab National Bank stand empty during a strike by bank employees in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Sondeep Shankar/Bloomberg News.)  

The government has asked all public sector banks to set up a committee of senior officers to monitor progress of pending fraud cases against employees.

Each panel will frame a timeline to reduce delays in disciplinary and vigilance action initiated against employees as delaying such cases affects morale of workers, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

The government is taking several steps to protect honest commercial decisions by bankers, and has asked all banks to dispose internal disciplinary and vigilance cases in a time-bound manner, the statement said.

The government, in 2018, had amended the Prevention of Corruption Act, which prevented any police officer to conduct an inquiry or probe into any offence by a public servant while discharging his duties, without prior approval of a competent authority.

The government has also made it mandatory for banks to refer suspicious cases of fraud for all non-performing asset accounts exceeding Rs 50 crore to Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds set up by the Central Vigilance Commission. The board conducts first level of inquiry for frauds over Rs 50 crore in state-run banks and companies, and these entities can then approach investigative agencies after they receive the recommendations from the board.